Accused murderer's trial set for July

Saturday

May 24, 2014 at 6:52 PM

A Houma man accused of killing his neighbor by shooting him in the chest will stand trial in July.

Jordan Gribble Staff Writer

A Houma man accused of killing his neighbor by shooting him in the chest will stand trial in July.Cody Callais, 38, is scheduled to stand trial July 21 in state District Judge John Walker's court on charges of murder and other crimes. Pretrial motions are set for June 4 and 19.Callais is accused of gunning down Rickie Samanie, 68, Jan. 21 in his Bayou Blue house with Samanie's own gun. If convicted of first-degree murder, he faces a mandatory prison sentence.Callais broke into the retired oilfield worker's home, took one of his guns, shot him in the chest, stole four guns and the man's truck before fleeing, police said at the time. He led police on a chase through multiple communities in two parishes in the stolen truck before wrecking it in the bayou and being captured.Callais, who also faces charges related to the stolen guns and truck, lived about half his life in the same neighborhood as Samanie and as a teenager did odd jobs for Samanie, neighbors said.Police said there were signs of a struggle inside the house. It appears that Callais went to the house with the intent of robbing it, but Samanie walked in on him.Callais has been in the Terrebonne Parish jail on $1 million bond since his arrest. He also faces charges related to the gun and truck thefts, fleeing officers, damage to property, criminal trespass, unauthorized use of an access card and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.He has been in and out of prison since he was a teenager, last serving time for felony theft charges in 2008. His criminal history includes burglary and possession of illegal narcotics, the Sheriff's Office said,

Staff Writer Jordan Gribble can be reached at 857-2208 or jordan.gribble@houmatoday.com. Follow him on Twitter @JGrib_Courier.